Alex Balluff's Journey Continues

Alex Balluff continues to smile through life, even though it's changed so dramatically since October 31, 2009.

He was hit by a drunk driver, as he was walking on Rice Lake Road with a couple of friends. He was only a freshman in college.

Alex now suffers from permanent brain damage, and basically has no memory of what happened even a few hours earlier in the day.

His family says he requires 24/7 care.

But he has spent many days on the road, away from his Twin Cities area home, speaking about what happened to him.

Another event is coming up here in Duluth, in August. It's part of the Toward Zero Deaths campaign in Minnesota.

On Monday, he and his mother, brother, and a friend were in court, for a review hearing for the driver who hit him. That driver, is Julie Gronski. According to testimony in court, she is in the DWI court, has a 6-month old son, and is working at Quizno's.

Debbie Balluff asked the court for more consistency with the restitution payments that Gronski is required to make.

Gronski served time in the county jail and Bethel for the crash. She's now on probation.

Debbie Balluff said that although Alex will not be able to have a family or a job, she is hopeful Julie can continue on with her life.

If you'd like to see how Alex is doing, you can check out his foundation page:

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